thinking of changing out my opti, I have a 93 with 100000 on it. is it worth the extra money to put in the MSD or stay with factory and put the vent kit on it you can get from midamerica? Also is it that hard to do, should this be done by the local dealership? thanks.

 

The OEM gen 1 opti costs about $600. For the same price you can get a Dynaspark (I think the MSD is about $100 less). Given the amount of work involved changing the opti I would go for one of the two after matker units. There is a lot more to them than just the venting. They use better materials and are much better made.

The MSD came out about 1 year age, Dynaspark has been around longer so more members here are familiar with it.

If you're going to change the opti you should also consider replacing the waterpump as well. You're going to tear most of the front of the engine apart anyway and the wp will only cost you for the part. No sense replacing the opti only to have the wp die two months later and wipe out the new opti.


ed 2:24pm

I'll stand corrected on the price, an OEM opti is about $400 at Eklers, maybe cheaper elsewhere. But I don't stand corrected on the quality of the product, it's crap.

 

I know I am nothing more than a newbie here but unless you are looking for performance beyond the normal driving experience, the original AC/Delco replacement would be best and they are MUCH cheaper.

 

If it ain't broke, why fix it?

 

I read your other thread and the problm prbly isnt the opti.....

But when it is time go with the MSD... depending on what harness you have on the stock opti... it bolts right up, and is a much better quality piece than the factory unit. Even if you have to switch ends on the harness (cutting/splicing ends on 4 wires) its still worth it. IMO

Mines been spinning happily for a year now with no problems.

 

Sorry, but could not disagree with you more on this. I also have a '93 and am now in the process of installing it's THIRD Opti....this time, a DynaSpark unit. The car has 28k miles on it and the original Opti went at 25k. You do the math - the OE replacement lasted 3k miles. GARBAGE.

Do yourself a favor, and avoid the OE replacement units like the plague. Is the DynaSpark unit more costly? It sure is. Is it a far superior unit? You bet your butt it is. There really is no comparison between the two.

And as far as wanting some type of performance upgrade by installing an aftermarket Opti, that's a shallow argument at best. You're not going to get any extra horsepower, torque or whatever is it that one may be eluding to. What you will get is reliability....something that is not built into the crappy oe units by any stretch.

Learn from the experience of others and go aftermarket. While it's being done I also strongly suggest that you replace the water pump, plugs and wires. Good Luck.

 

My opti lasted 12 years so I replaced it with another Delco. These things aren't as bad as most make them out to be. your results will vary

 

thanks for all the input guys, money is not the deal breaker its reliability. THe car has been runnig fine,hasn't done it again. I am going to spearfish this summer and don't feel like walking. thanks again.

 

my opti lasted well over 100k... I think it was about 170k when it finally went... the only reason it died was because the water pump had been leaking on it for some time, but the car still ran... the mechanic said that it jumped time, that's the only way he was certain the opti had finally died.... he also indicated he didn't know how it ran as long as it did because the inside of the unit has some rust and other crud in it....

My point? your mileage may vary... I have had no problems with the OE.... oh yeah, my 40th has over 200k on the clock....

 

Considering how relatively inaccessible the Opti is, and how generally unreliable the OEM first-gen Optis are, I would never install a replacement OEM unit in a '92 - '94 Corvette. The aftermarket units from MSD and DynaSpark are not priced all that much higher than the first-gen OEM units, and they are vastly superior products. The original Opti in my '94 died at 19k miles. The Dyna that I installed has since run for nearly three years, and far more miles than the OEM unit lasted, and I expect it to last for a very long time.

I must agree with everything RubyRed93 posted above, and I'll add that I'd also suggest you change the coolant hoses and serpentine belt while you're in there, unless they're fresh.

Be well,

SJW

 

I don't understand the problem.... this is only my 2nd opti and it has lasted over 25k miles... perhaps because I am driving it daily? I am with JD... things may not be as bad as some make them out to be... though it begs why some opti's last longer than others...

 

 

I can't prove this theory scientifically, but here's what I've come to believe about the first-gen OEM opti units:

They tend to last a lot longer in cars that are driven daily. My hypothesis is that accumulated moisture tends to get baked out and vented to the atmosphere with frequent thermal cycling. Garage queens which see few miles tend to not see the benefit of frequent thermal cycling, and the anecdotal evidence I've heard and read about suggests that seldom-driven first-gen Opti-equipped LT1 engines are highly susceptible to premature Opti failures.

An OEM Opti will rarely survive a dousing with water or coolant. Among numerous other deficiencies, all of the OEM units are inadequately sealed against water/coolant intrusion, and the first-gen units also suffer from inadequate venting (they are passively-vented via three weep holes, as compared to the active venting via manifold vacuum that is employed with the second-gen OEM units).

When I bought a DynaSpark for my '94, Phil at DynoTech (who developed the DynaSpark, but has since sold the product line to an unafilliated firm) actually encouraged me to go ahead and hose down my engine with the Dyna installed. I don't expect I'll ever do that, but after carefully examining the Dyna prior to installation, I had to agree that it's very likely watertight everywhere except for the two vent hose ports.

Be well,

SJW

 

thanks for sharing your observations..... I am sure I would be looking for alternatives to an OEM opti if I had a couple of failures after only 3k miles....

thanks again...

 

As was I, when the original Opti failed in the ten-year-old, 19k-original-miles garage queen '94, three weeks after I bought the car. No matter how I looked at it, I just couldn't persuade myself that installing a replacement OEM first-gen unit was a sane thing to do. I looked into the Delteq and LTCC DIS conversions, but ultimately settled on the Dyna as the best long-term, bolt-on solution available at that time (the MSD had not yet appeared on the market).

You're most welcome. We can all benefit from each other's experiences. That's what this forum is all about. I'm always happy to help out when I can.

Be well,

SJW

 

Some things made by Delco just suck and this is one of them. I think the quality slipped a little on the opti . In this case I would go with the aftermarket brands already mentioned. MSD and Dynaspark are good units. I would stay away from Accel, Delco and anything that has the word OEM replacement from a parts house . I think Jegs has one now under their name now, I'm not sure who manufactures it for Jegs.

I'm new here too. However I'm not new to Corvettes and I would never recommend something without having first hand experience with it. My car has a MSD in it and it seems reliable so far, almost 22k on it. My car before this one (LT4 Vette) had two Delco's replaced on it because no one else at the time made aftermarket. So you can see my frustration with recommending a Delco .

 

I also have been down this road. The original opti on my 93 went out at 23k. I chose to go with OEM replacement with some modifications. I used JB Weld, (good stuff), to install two vacuum line fittings on the new unit. I tied one into the engine's vacuum system through a vacuum regulator, (fom the Chevy dealership), and ran the other line, the air supply, into the passenger compartment, under the glove conpartment I installed a small fuel line filter in this supply line for good measure. This way, any time the engine is running, filtered, relatively dry air is being drawn through the opti unit. When I opened up the old unit the disc had a layer of fine rust/dust on it which indicated a moisture problem. I agree with previous posts suggesting changing out the water pump at the same time because it will already be taken off the front of the engine. Consider changing plug wires also as it is much easier with the front of the engine undressed. It was a rather time consumming project, like all weekend, and I have now have 32k miles with no further problems to date.